Kerf-cutting machine



Oct. 13, 1942. F. A. LINDGREN KERF-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNvgNoB 1% L/' IRQ/grey?,

ATTORNEY KERF-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y gyda-Ma. M

ATTORNEY Oct. 13, 1942.

F. A. LINDGREN KERF- CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 13, 1942. F. A. LINDGREN 2,298,392

KEEP-CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 TTORNEY .Oc-t..l3, 1942. F, A, LlNbGREN KERF- CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug.2e. 1940 5 sheets-sheet 5 fb 4 ATTORII Patented Oct. 13, 1942 'UNETED STAT ES FAT ENT O F FIC E KE-RF-CUTTING vltACHINE Application August ze, 1940, serial No. 354,180

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in kerfcutting machines of the continuousV cutter type adapted to cut a kerf in a coal face while slidably moved along the mine bottom by flexible draft devices.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a new and improved mining machine of a low compact construction having a novel and simplified form of cuttings collecting and conveying means, for collecting the cuttings brought rearwardly from the kerf by the cutter chain and elevating them for discharge into a conveyer or other receptacle.

vA further object of my invention is to provide a compact and simplified form of drive gearing for the feed drums and cutter chain drive sprocket, together with a novel form of drive connection to the slack conveyers so that each will be driven in the proper direction during either direction of cutting.

Other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the description proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a mining machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a View in side elevation of the machine shown in Figure 1, showing the cutter bar in a `coal seam;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View of the machine shown in Figure l, with one of the gear covers removed and with certain parts broken away and certain other parts shown in horizontal section in order Ato more clearly illustrate certain details of the invention;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the machine, drawn to substantially the same scale as Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a rear end View of the machine, with certain parts shown in section;

Figure 7 is a View in side elevation of the machine shown in Figure 1, with certain parts bro,- ken away in order to show certain details of the slack conveyer; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View ofthe forward part of the machine, with certain parts removed and broken away and certain other parts shown in section, in order to illustrate certain details in the arrangement of the drive connection to the operative parts of the machine from the lower end of the motor shaft.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, the embodiment of Amy invention illustrated therethe lower end `of a .vertical shaft 26.

in includes generally a main frame I0 having 4a motor II mounted at the forward end thereof. Said motor is provided with a motor shaft I2 arranged for rotation about a vertical axis, and a cutter bar I3, mounted on said frame in planes beneath said motor, projects forwardly therefrom. Said cutter bar has a cutter chain I4 guided for movementthereabout, which is driven from a sprocket I6 on the lower end of a vertical shaft Il, disposed adjacent the rear end of the machine.

The machine is moved about the mine on yits bottom and is sumped into and moved across the coal face by means of a plurality of winding drums I9, I9 having exible cables 23, 20 wound thereon and adapted to be extended therefrom and attached to fixed abutments remote from the machine. Each of said winding drums is adapted to be independently driven from the motor iI at either a high or low frictionally controlled speed through a separate planetary I8. A brake band 2I controlled by a hand crank 22, in the usual manner, is provided for each of said winding drums to retard the rotation of the respective drum when disconnected from the motor II, so said drum may serve as a tail rope drum for the machine.

Referring now in particular to the novel and compact form of drive connection to the cutter chain drive sprocket I6, and to the winding drums I9, I9, an armature pinion 23 is mounted on the lower end of the motor shaft I2, within the inner lateral boundaries of the cutter chain I4. Said armature pinion meshes with .an idler gear 24 which meshes with and drives a spur gear 25 on Said idler gear and spurgear are likewise disposed within theA inner lateral boundaries of the cutter chain,

lateral boundaries of the' path of travel of the4 cutter chain vto be completely housed and free` A Worm 2S, mounted on the vertical from dirt. shaft 26 intermediate the ends thereof, meshes with and drives aworm gear 3U on a transversely extending shaft 3 I. Said shaft is journaled within the hubs 33, 33 of casings 34,313 of the planetary geared reduction devices I8, I8 and has spur pinions 3G, 36 mounted on opposite ends thereof,

which serve as sun gears for driving said planetaries (see Figure The planetaries I3, I8, as herein shown, are each of a similar construction which is well known to those skilled in the art, so will only be shown and described insofar as is necessary to make my present invention readily understandable. The sun gear 36 of each planetary meshes with planetary pinions 31, 31 mounted in a cage 38. Said planetary pinions mesh with an internal gear 39 secured to the inner periphery of a flanged portion 35 of the casing 34. Planetary pinions 46, 4i) are mounted coaxially with the planetary pinions 31, 31 and rotate therewith and mesh with an internal gear 4| on a spider 42 keyed on a transverse shaft 45, for driving said shaft. A casing 43 is disposed adjacent the casing 34, and with said casing encloses said spider and the planetary gearing. Said casing has the cage 38 secured thereto. A friction band 44 engages the flanged portion 35 of the casing 34 to hold it and the internal gear 39 from rotation. Another friction band 46 engages the casing 43, to hold said casing and the cage 38 from rotation.

When the casing 34 and internal gear 39 are held from rotation by the friction band 44, the shaft will be driven through the sun gear 36, planetary pinions 31, 31 orbitally moving about said internal gear, and planetary pinions 40, 4|) meshing with and driving the internal gear 4| at a relatively slow speed.

When the friction band 46 engages the outer periphery of the casing 43, the cage 38 will be held from rotation. The shaft 45 will thus be driven by the sun gear 36, meshing with the l planetary pinions 31, 31 and driving said pinions and the coaxial planetary pinions 40, 4D, which last mentioned planetary pinions mesh with and drive the internal gear 4| at a relatively high rate of speed.

A pinion 49 on the outer end of each transverse shaft 45 meshes with an internal gear 50, freely mounted on a stub shaft 5| (see Figure 3). Each feed drum I9 is freely mounted on a hub of one of said internal gears and, as herein shown, is operatively connected with said internal gear by means of a pin 52 registering for engagement with suitable apertures formed in said feed drum and internal gear, respectively. Said pin and apertures thus form a means to disconnect said feed drum from its internal gear to permit free paying off of its associated feeding member, when desired. Each stub shaft 5| is mounted in a bearing boss 54, herein shown as being formed integrally with an outer cover 55 for a slack conveyer56, one of which slack conveyers extends along each side of said cutter bar and is mounted withinthe lateral boundaries of the frame for the mining machine. Said slack conveyer will be more fully described as this specification proceeds The shafts 45, 45 extend between the upper and lower runs of the slack conveyers, and said bearing bosses extend within the boundaries of said slack conveyers, in order to permit the width and height of the machine to be reduced.

' The drive to the cutter chain drive sprocket |6 includes a spur pinion 51, mounted on the upper end of the vertical shaft 26 and meshing with an idler gear 58 (see Figures 3 and 4). gear meshes with and drives a spur ring gear 59, provided with a lower flanged portion 6U which is secured to an upper flange 6| of a driving sleeve 62. Said driving sleeve is journaled on the vertical shaft I1, for free rotation with respect thereto, and has a clutch member 64, with desaid idlerv pending jaws 65, slidably mounted thereon. Said jaws are adapted to be engaged with jaws 66 of a clutch member 61, secured to the vertical shaft I1, for driving said shaft. A suitable clutch yoke 68, mounted on a rock shaft 69, is provided for shifting said clutch member, to selectively connect said cutter chain sprocket with said ring gear. The system of levers for shifting said clutch member is not herein shown or described in detail since it is no part of my present invention and is well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to the novel form and arrangement of the cuttings collecting conveyers 56, 56, said conveyers are recessed within the sides of the machine frame and extend along opposite sides of the machine in parallel relation with respect to the cutter bar I3 just outside of the path of the bits of the cutter chain I4. Each of said slack conveyers is provided with a receiving end 10 open to the front of the machine and disposed adjacent the coal face when the cutter bar is fully sumped in the coal and is cutting across the coal face, and opening towards the coal face, to collect the slack withdrawn from the coal face by the cutter chain I4. One of said slack conveyers is adapted to be utilized when the machine is cutting in one direction and the other of said slack conveyers is adapted to be utilized when the machine is cutting in an opposite direction, and each of said slack conveyers is of a similar construction so the construction of one only will herein be described in detail.

As herein shown, the slack conveyer 56 includes an endless chain 1| having spaced apart flights 11, 11 projecting outwardly therefrom. Said chain is trained about an idler sprocket 12 mounted on a transverse shaft 13, disposed adjacent the entering end 19 of the conveyer. From said idler sprocket said chain extends in an upwardly inclined direction to a drive sprocket 14 on a transverse shaft 15. From thence said chain extends in a forwardly direction over a bearing shoe 16, to and around the idler sprocket 12. The flights 11 are adapted to move material along a bottom 19 of a casing 80 for the conveyer (see Figure 7). Said casing is herein shown as being formed integral with the main frame I0 and is provided with a discharge end disposed above the ground and adjacent the rear of the machine, to discharge cuttings into a conveyer 8| which may extend along the coal face in parallel relation with respect thereto (see Figure 4). An opening 18 extending along the cutter bar, above the bottom plate 19, is provided on the inner side of said casing to permit the collection of the cuttings thrown laterally by the cutter chain as it passes by said opening (see Figures 3 and 7).

The drive to the conveyers 56, 56 is arranged to selectively drive said conveyers at a greater speed than the speed of the cutter chain and includes a chain and sprocket drive 82 which drives a bevel gear 83 on a vertical stub shaft 84 from the upper end of the vertical shaft |1. Said bevel gear and stub shaft are disposed adjacent the rear upper portion of the main frame I and said bevel gear meshes with a pair of facing bevel gears 85, 85. Each of said facing bevel gears is freely mounted on an adjacent end of the transverse shaft 15. A clutch member 86 is herein shown as being feathered on each transverse shaft 15. Each of said clutch members is provided with jaws 81, 81 adapted to engage jaws 88, 88 formed on the hub of the bevel gear 85, to form a selective driving connection for each shaft 15 from its respective bevel gear.

The drive arrangement to the shafts I5, 'l5 is thus such that each of said shafts and the fconveyers t, 56 driven thereby, will be driven in opposite directions while the motor Il is rotating in one direction. The reason for so arranging this drive conne-ction is to insure that each conveyer will be driven in the proper direction when cutting either from right to left or from left to right. When cutting from right to left, the slack conveyer on the left-hand side of the machine will be in operation to collect the cuttings and will be connected to the motor Il, lto be driven in a direction to move material upwardly along the bottom 'i9 of the casing 8B. `When cutting from left to right, the direction of rotation of the motor H must be reversed in order to drive the cutter chain i4 in the proper cutting direction. Upon reversal of said motor, the slack coveyer on the right-hand side of the machine will be driven in a direction to move Imaterial upwardly along the bottom l of the casi-ng Sil, so said slack conveyor will collect and discharge the cuttings during this direction of cutting.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a new and improved form of mining machine has been provided which is of a low, compact form and which has slack conveyers incorporated therein as a part of the machine, so arranged that the receiving ends of said conveyers are closely ad- .jacent the coal face and in the path of the cuttings cut and discharged by the cutter chain so said conveyers will collect these cuttings and convey them away from the machine in either direction of cutting. that the machine is eciently constructed for cutting in reverse directions with the conveyer recessed within and a part of the machine frame proper, enabling the low overall height, width and length of the machine necessary forready maneuverability and operation in confined spaces, to be attained.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof andthe arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be. construed as limiting my invention to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting vas it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1, In a mining machine of the type slidable along the mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, and cuttings collecting means extending along the advance side of said machine from the lower forward end thereof including a conveyer extending along and recessed within the advance side of said machine and having a receiving end disposed adjacent said cutter chain and opening to the forward end of said machine and having a discharge end adjacent the upper rear end of said machine.

2. In a mining machine, a main frame, a motor, a cutter bar projecting from said frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in planes disposed beneath said motor, and a closed cuttings collwting conveyer extending along the advance side of said main frame to one side of said cutter bar and having a receiving end opening to the forward end of said machine and It may further be seen u alongside of said cutter chain, for collecting the 7 5 cuttings out by said cutter chain and having a discharge end at the upper rear end of said main frame for discharging the cuttings to the rear of said main frame.

3. In a mining machine, a main frame, a motor, a cutter bar projecting from said frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabcut in a path extending beneath said motor, and an upwardly inclined closed cuttings collecting conveyer extending along the advance side of said main frame from the lower forward end thereof and opening to the forward end thereof adjacent said cutter chain, for collecting the cuttings discharged by said cutter chain and discharging them to the rear of said main frame.

4. In a mining machine of the type slidable along the mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, feed Amechanism for said machine including a feed drum disposed at one side of the machine and a exible draft device adapted to be wound thereon, and a cuttings collecting means extending along the advance side of the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drum, said cuttings collecting means including a closed ccnveyer disposed adjacent said cutter chain and opening alongside of said cutter chain and to the forward end of the machine.

5. In a mining machine of the type slidable along a mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a cutter bai projecting forwardly from said main. frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, feed mechanism for said machine including a feed drum disposed at one side of the machine and a flexible draft devi-ce adapted to be wound thereon, and a cuttings collecting means extending along the advance side of the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drum, said cuttings collecting means including an inciined bottom portion disposed within the lateral boundaries of said winding drum and extending in an upwardly inclined direction from the forward to the rear end of said main frame and conveying means for collecting and moving material discharged from said cutter chain upwardly along said inclined bottom.

6. In a mining machine of the type slidable along a mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, feed mechanism for said machine including a feed drum disposed at one side of the machine and a flexible draft device adapted to be wound thereon, and a closed cuttings collecting means extending along the advance side of the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drum, said cuttings collecting means including an inclined bottom portion disposed within the lateral boundaries of said winding drum and extending in an upwardly inclined direction from the forward end of said main frame, and a conveyer for moving material upwardly along said bottom including an endless chain, a drive sprocket therefor rotatable about a horizontal axis, and spaced apart flights projecting outwardly from said chain, said cuttings collecting means being open to the forward end of the machine and along said cutter chain.

7. In a reversible mining machine of the type slidable along a mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a motor, a cutter bar projecting forwardly of said main frame and motor and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, feed drums disposed at opposite sides of the machine and adapted to have flexible draft devices wound thereon, and cuttings collecting means extending along opposide sides of the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drums including closed conveyers extending along said cutter chain from the forward end of said main frame and opening along opposite sides of said cutter chain andto the forward end of the machine, for collecting the cuttings discharged by said cutter chain during opposite directions of cutting.

8. In a reversible mining machine of the type slidable along a mine bottom on its bottom during cutting, a main frame, a motor, a cutter bar projecting forwardly of said main frame and motor and having a cutter chain movable thereabout in a closed orbital path, feed drums disposed at opposite sides of the machine and adapted to have flexible draft devices wound thereon, and cuttings collecting means extending along opposite sides oi the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drums including closed conveyers opening along opposite sides of said cutter chain and to the forward end of the machine, for collecting the cuttings discharged by said cutter chain during opposite directions of cutting, and drive connections from said motor for selectively driving either of said conveyers in directions so the conveyer on the advance side of the machine will always be driven in a conveying direction during cutting in one direction and the conveyer on the machine which is the advance side in the opposite direction of cutting will be driven in a conveying direction upon reversal of the motor, for cutting in an opposite direction.

9. In a mining machine of the class described, a main frame, a motor disposed at the forward end of said main frame and having a vertical armature shaft, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and motor and disposed in planes extending beneath said motor, a cutter chain drive sprocket disposed rearwardly of said motor, and drive connections from said motor to said cutter chain drive sprocket including an armature pinion and spur gear disposed within the orbit of said cutter chain and within the vertical limits of said cutter chain.

10. In a mining machine of the class described, a main frame, a motor disposed at the forward end of said main frame and having a vertical armature shaft, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and motor and disposed in planes extending beneath said motor, a cutter chain drive sprocket disposed rearwardlly of said motor, drive connections from said motor to said cutter chain drive sprocket including an amature pinion and spur gear disposed within the orbit of said cutter chain and within the vertical limits of said cutter chain, and means for enclosing said spur gear and pinion and serving as a guide means for the cutter chain.

11. In a mining machine of the class described, a main frame, a motor disposed at the forward end of said main frame and having a vertical armature shaft, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and motor and disposed in planes extending beneath said motor, a cutter chain drive sprocket disposed rearwardly of said motor, a pair of feed drums disposed at opposite sides of said main frame and mounted for rotation about transverse axes, drive connections from said motor to said cutter chain drive sprocket and feed drums including an armature pinion and spur gear disposed within the orbit of said cutter chain and within the vertical limits of said cutter chain, and means for enclosing said spur gear and armature pinion and serving as a guide shoe for said cutter chain.

l2. In a mining machine of the class described, a main frame, a motor disposed at the forward end of said main frame and having a vertical armature shaft, a cutter bar projecting forwardly from said main frame and motor and disposed in planes extending beneath said motor, a cutter chain drive sprocket disposed rearwardly of said motor, a pair of feed drums disposed at opposite sides of said main frame and mounted for rotation about transverse axes, and cuttings collecting means extending along opposite sides of the machine and disposed within the lateral boundaries of said feed drums and including closed conveyers opening along opposite sides of said cutter chain and to the forward end of the machine, for collecting the cuttings discharged by said cutter chain during opposite directions of cutting, drive connections from said motor to said cutter chain sprocket, feed drums and conveyers, for `independently driving said cutter chain sprocket, feed drums and conveyers including an armature pinion and spur gear disposed within the path of said cutter chain.

FRANK A. LINDGREN. 

